Trust fund set up for children of teacher killed in crash

Thursday

Apr 11, 2013 at 1:54 PMApr 11, 2013 at 4:49 PM

BERWICK, Maine — A trust fund has been set up to support the two children injured in a head-on car crash that claimed the life of their mother, Amy Harris, Wednesday, one of whom remains in intensive care at a Boston-area hospital.

Joey Cresta

BERWICK, Maine — A trust fund has been set up to support the two children injured in a head-on car crash that claimed the life of their mother, Amy Harris, Wednesday, one of whom remains in intensive care at a Boston-area hospital.

Meanwhile, the Maine attorney general's office has gotten involved in the police investigation into the accident.

One of the injured children has been released from the hospital, while the other is still in intensive care awaiting surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to Cindy Dumond, accounting manager at Salmon Falls Nursery and Landscaping.

Mark Pendergast is the founder and owner of the business, located on Route 4 just a half-mile away from the spot where a fatal accident claimed the life of his daughter, Amy Harris, on Wednesday morning.

Harris, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was driving north on Route 4, with her two children in the back seat, when a car heading south and driven by a 17-year-old Berwick Academy student crossed into her lane and collided head-on with Harris's vehicle, police said.

Harris was pronounced dead at the scene, and her children, Abbie, 4, and Lucas, 7, were transported to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, N.H. Lucas was later airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital.

“The youngest child, Abbie, is home and doing fine,” Dumond said Thursday afternoon. “Luke is still at Mass General in ICU awaiting surgery ... They're expecting a positive recovery.”

Dumond said a trust fund has been set up to help support Harris's children. She said checks should be made payable to “The Abbie and Luke Trust Fund” and mailed to the office of Salmon Falls Nursery, 511 Portland St., Berwick, Maine 03901.

Dumond said the family is still in shock following the tragic accident, which occurred around 8 a.m. on a stretch of Route 4 near Berwick Storage, where the speed limit is 55 mph.Harris was a special education teacher at Vivian E. Hussey School. She was a graduate of Noble High School, where her stepfather, Jon Appleby, works.

Berwick police Detective William Russell said Thursday that the investigation into the crash is still in its early stages. He could not say whether the teenager would be facing charges in connection with the accident.

“It's going to be a few weeks before anything is going to be determined,” he said.

Russell said he is working on multiple aspects of the case, from reconstructing the accident scene and what happened before the collision, to reviewing witness statements.

“I've got to put this scene all back together,” he said.

He said police have been in touch with the Maine attorney general's office and will be working with Attorney General Paul Rucha as the case progresses.

Berwick Academy Head of School Gregory Schneider confirmed in an e-mail Wednesday that the teen driver was a Berwick Academy student. He said he is expected to make a full recovery.Police have not publicly identified the teenager.

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